Sunday, 17 May 2009

RCA Studio II (Chip-8 and Superchip) TOSEC + No-Intro

"The RCA Studio II is a video game console made by RCA that debuted in January 1977. The graphics of Studio II games were black and white and resembled those of earlier Pong consoles and their clones. The Studio II also did not have joysticks or similar game controllers but instead used two keypads that were built into the console itself. The console was capable of making simple beep sounds with slight variations in length.

One distinct feature of the Studio II was its five built-in games. Also unique to the Studio II was its use of a switchbox that relayed both the modulated RF signal of the console's video to the television set while powering the console with DC power. This type of hookup would not be seen again (or thereafter) until the Atari 5200 used a similar video signal and power connection method.

The Studio II was not a successful product; it was already obsolete by the time it hit the market when compared to the previously released Fairchild Channel F, and had its "final nail in the coffin" when the superior (to both) Atari 2600 console was released only 10 months later. It was discontinued in 1979." (Wikipedia)